Judicial Watch Sues DC for Records on Alleged Crime Data Manipulation

(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today it has filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the District of Columbia for records related to allegations of crime data manipulation by the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) (Judicial Watch Inc. v. District of Columbia (No. 2025-CAB-006701)).

It was recently reported that DC police officers are cooperating with the U.S. Department of Justice in an investigation into whistleblower reports of manipulated crime data.

The lawsuit follows the DC’s failure to respond to an August 14, 2025, FOIA request for:

• Complaints or communications from the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), Chairman Greggory Pemberton, or union representatives alleging MPD [Metropolitan Police Department] supervisors falsified or downgraded crime data (e.g., classifying shootings as “felony assaults” or carjackings as lesser offenses).
• Internal audits, reviews, or quality control assessments of crime reporting practices in the 3rd District or department-wide, including comparisons of raw incident reports to finalized Uniform Crime Reporting data.
• Records of past allegations from 2019-2020, including whistleblower complaints about misclassifying violent crimes (e.g., the August 2019 face-slashing or December 2019 knife-to-neck incidents reported as “simple assault”).
• Policies, guidelines, training materials, or directives on crime classification and reporting, including updates since 2019 on violent crime definitions (e.g., distinguishing “assault with a dangerous weapon” from “simple assault”).
• Communications among MPD [Metropolitan Police Department] personnel (e.g., supervisors, commanders, or data analysts) discussing adjustments to crime statistics to reflect lower violent crime rates.

In August, President Trump issued an executive order, “Restoring Law and Order in the District of Columbia,” which refers to the “epidemic of crime in our Nation’s capital” and authorized the Secretary of Defense to mobilize the DC National Guard.

The House Oversight Committee announced in August that it was launching an investigation into allegations of manipulated and inaccurate crime statistics by DC Metropolitan Police Department leadership. Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) stated:

[I]n May, MPD [Metropolitan Police Department] placed 3rd District Commander Michael Pulliam on administrative leave following allegations that he altered crime reports. Unfortunately, this practice does not appear to be isolated, nor is it a recent development. MPD [Metropolitan Police Department] recently entered into a settlement agreement related to allegations that senior MPD [Metropolitan Police Department] officials were engaged in falsifying crime statistics to artificially lower reported crime rates.

“People who live in, work in, and visit Washington, DC, have the right to real transparency about crime in the nation’s capital,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.

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